Method of preparing printing plates



B. F, TERRY METHOD OF PREPARING PRINTING PLATES Aug; 7,- 1945 OriginalFiled A ril's'o, 1942.

- IN VEN TOR. EENNETTETE RY BY Patented Aug. 7, 1945 omrso srAs()rigirial application April 30, 1941, Serial No. 391,101. Divided andthis application @etober 23, 1942, Serial No. 463,020

Claims. (cl. loll-149.1)

.This invention relates to improvements in printing apparatus andmethods of preparing and. using the same, and is more particularlydirected toward the preparation photographically of mediums for printingwith pigmented greasy inks and the like adapted to have the ink appliedto the surfaces thereof; and the further.

featureof feeding a repellent to certain portions of the surfaces ofsaid mediums through the mediums themselves. I

According to this invention, the surface of the photoimage functionsboth as the ink selecting and the differentiating plane upon which theink or stain is transferred from the medium and from which the ink andstain are subsequently v transferred to the surface upon which the imageis to be printed.

0 Both the ink and the stain are applied to the surface simultaneouslyand thereby prints are effected in two colors namely, the color of theink and the color of the stain in the ink repellent.

by using photographic emulsion whose digestion has been so manipulatedas to produce easy reversal upon controlled original exposure. Such anemulsion reverses itself during the processing.

Another means of reversal of the photographic image may be realized by asubsequent controlled exposure after the first exposure duringprocessins.

It is another of the objects of this invention to produce direct copyimages by any suitable photo reversal means on a toothed, roughened orgrained brom-silver or brom-iodo photographic film surface conforming tothe toothed, rough ened or grained surface of a plate or carrier orflexible sheet, whether the same be rigid, flexible flat, or curved incharacter, for use in and with the greasy ink and/or stain printingmethods and processes to be hereinafter described.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of aniedium fromwhich a print in greasy, transparent or opaque ink may be made =andsimultaneously with this printing to print with an aqueous dye solution,both printings being in automatic registry and at a single operation.The medium referred to is the photo-image surface.

Another method for producing a colorbn the printing or front surface isby the transmission of the stain bearing vehicle through the platethatis to say, from the back surface thereof and therethrough to the frontor printing surface thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for producinga superior copy in greasy ink or liquid soluble stains, or asimultaneous selective combination of both regardless of whether theuser has had previousskill in the printing art or not. This means is asfully effective in the offset type of printing as it is by directprinting. Since this method eliminates the major portion of the timerequired for producing certain kinds of universally required copy, it istherefore more economical and expeditious.

In practicing my invention, full flexibility is realized and the copy isin no way limited to present methods; no electroplate is necessary, noris it necessary for any other type of professional work to be done onthe plate.

Since this invention employs a photographic image as the ink selectivesurface, the scope of the copy is equal to the range of subjectsthat canbe photographed.

Copy from my method and process does not suffer by comparison with otherprinting processes, as the inked copy is made from the photo image.

Many attempts in the past have been made formed of a bichromate gelatineor bichromate albumen composition, These mediums are slow, and not onlyrequire special and costly light sources, but also great skill on. thepart of the operator is necessary. The action of the light upon thebichromate coatings causes them to become insoluble, and the portionsnot acted upon by the light remain soluble. Developing consists inwashing out the soluble portions with hot water or by means of steam,and a great deal of smll is necessary. Therefore it lies well be-.

yond the average unskilled operator's ability,

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a perforate carrier, carrying aphotographic emulsion;

Figure 2 is a view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1, after the samehas been exposed, developed, fixed, and processed to harden the portionswhich contain the metallic silver; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the arrangement shown in Figure 2,wherein the depressions formed by the shrinking and hardening of the.gelatine, in the areas which contain the metallic silver, containsgreasy ink, and wherein the water soluble dye (greasy ink repellent)seeps through the unhardened surface of the emulsion. This arrangementpermits two colors to be printed at one operation and in perfectregistry with each other, one from the greasy ink selecting portions ofthe image and the other from the surfaces thereabout.

The above-mentioned application, of which the present application is adivision, relates to a process wherein the carrier for the emulsion istoothed, roughened or grained so that when the emulsion is appliedthereto, its surface conforms to the surface of the carrier and is,therefore, likewise toothed, roughened or grained. Such carriers may beformed of any suitable material, or may be in the form of a compositesheet of material.

According to the present invention, the carrier is perforate; in otherwords, it may be a metallic or non-metallic sheet which 'is perforated,for example, in an all-over grain so that when the emulsion is appliedto the surface, the surface of the emulsion is in turn toothed orgrained in conformation with the perforations.

The carrier may likewise be in the form of a mesh or screen. Forexample, it may be of woven wire or woven fabric material. With thecarrier perforate, I am enabled to place a supply of repellent, whichmay or may not contain a suitable dye, behind the carrier and thisrepellent will permeate the less hard portions of the developed plateand form in effect a fountain feed for the repellent and/or color.

In the illustration Figure 1, which is merely given by way of example,the carrier is in the form of a fine screen or mesh 41, to which theemulsion 4B is applied. The surface of the emulsion conforms generallyto the configuration of the surface of the screen or mesh.

When the emulsion 48 is exposed, developed, fixed, washed and tanned,the exposed portions 49 are shrunken and hardened, and thereby liebeneath the normal surface level 4|, just as was the case in thearrangement shown in the drawmg.

However, since the backing member is perforate and since the unexposedportions of the emulsion are softer and more porous than the hardenedportions 49, I have found that they will absorb and adsorb the repellenteven though it has incorporated therein a soluble dye or stain. Therepellent containing the dye or stain is left un-' changed'in its natureas a repellent and acts in the dual capacity as repellent andimage-forming stain.

The greasy ink, of course, 'will'adhere only to the shrunken portions 49of the surface which I lit portions are non-absorbing and non-adsorbingwith respect to the repellent and/or dye, with the result that when theplate is inked and impressed upon the material to receive the record,boththe image represented by the portions 49' carrying the greasy inkand the surfaces carrying the repellent and the dye will print at thesame moment of contact in their respective colors; thereby I am able toprint two colors simultaneously at one operation.

A further modification contemplates the formation of records fromphotographic images treated for the selective acceptance of greasy inkby using an emulsion receiving member or carrier on which the surface issubstantially fiat and having an overlay of small holes formed thereinin close formation throughout the entire area of said circuits.

After applying a film of photographic emulsion to this type of plate andproducing a developed image thereon, the surface of the emulsion willresemble the surface of the plate since there will be shrunken points inthe surface of the gelatine corresponding to the size and general shapesof the holes,

After-processing the same in the manner hereinbefore described for inkselection, the shrunken portions will be hard and relatively smooth andwill therefore not absorb, adsorb or transmit the repellent, and willtherefore only accept greasy ink, while the clear portions will transmitthe repellent and/or stain.

With thisarrangement, I find tical to apply the repellent and/or dyefrom the back of the emulsion (plate) and transmit it through therelative freer liquid transmitting portions of the image in greater'orsmaller proportions as the photo-image contained more or less metalafter development, clearing and fixing.

Obviously, a color may be incorporated in the repellent as outlinedabove to make it act as a printin medium over any areas not selected bythe greasy ink.

Plates made according to my process may be used at any time, unexposedor after exposure and processing for printing from the photographicimage, when additions may be made by means of a typewriter, greasy ink,or any other suitable means for adding matter to supplement the imagethereon, or it may be used as if it were simply a metallic plate orsurfaced for greasy ink and ink repellent.

- It may be used unexposed, un-flxed, or it may when desired be fixedand hardened before use with non-photographic patterns, for example withcarbon typewriter ribbon or hand drawn patterns.

It will be obvious that this process and method I contemplates theeconomical production of full color motion pictures and still full colorreproduction for projection by reflected or transmitted light or fornormal viewing by any of the above v means.-

Full color light transmitting images are produced using transparentgreasy inks'while patterns for viewing in reflected light may use eitheropaque pigmented inks or transparent greasy colors on opaque supports.

In motion picture black and white and full color reproduction, theabove-described method and process possesses novelty and invention inthat the record is made by means of an ink printting instantaneouslyfrom the surface of one memher. to the surface of the other withoutinhibition and the subsequent absorption of the liquid dye or that it ispracstain in the receiving member as is presently the case. v

New and novel surfaces on the printing stock may be used as no gelatineor other liquid ab sorbing surface is required for the image-receivingmember. This allows of much more economical production with less skill,equipment and with or without color, as also described in applicationSerial No. 256,608 filed February 15, 1939,

a now U. S. Patent No. 2,273,740 dated February 17,

In color motion picture reproduction, the images are registered from therequired number of continuous webs bearing'images on the toothed,roughened or grained surfaces of the webs, having been exposed throughthe proper filters and processed for selectivelyaccepting theseverallycolored inks.

These images are-then printed over one another in proper registry andprinted according. to normal lithographic practice upon a single webwhich is used for projection viewing. i

It is obvious that in all cases, where desirable, a half tone screen maybe used in taking or making the exposure, as now used in other printingprocesses.

It is a further object of this invention to afford a means of printingin greasy ink, by developin emulsion remaining in the perforations anddisperse the same over the toothed surfaces thereof, and said strongerportions being impervious to the repellent and readily adapted toreceive greasy ink.

2. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dyeprinting which includes the step of providing a finely perforatedcarrier, the perforations of which form a toothed surface, the furtherstep of applying a thin film of photosensitive halide emulsion tosaidsurface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsion substantiallyconforms to the tooth of the perforations in said surface, said emulsionalso filling said perforations, the step of exposing said platephtographically, the step of developing,

fixing and washing saidplate, and the final step.

of placing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution forhardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of thedeveloped image below .the surface of the plate, the weaker portions ofeah image remaining substantially level with the surface-of the plateand retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of theperforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printingbeing adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via theresidue of the emulsion remaining in the perforations and disperse thesame over the toothed I surfaces thereof, and said stronger portionsbeing impervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasyink.

3. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dyeprinting which includes the step of providing a carrier having anoverall "pattern of fine perforations therethrough, said emulsionsurfaces properly produced from the toothed surface of the emulsionbearing base, motion picture and sound track recorded photographicallyby well known methods presently used.

In my method, the tooth or grain does not inter-' fere with resolutionasI have produced images of sound tracks at about 900 lines per inch.

While the invention has been described in several preferred forms, I amnot limited to the precise procedure or chemical combinations given ofphoto-sensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby the outersurface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth or grain ofsaid surface, said emulsion also fillin the perforations between, thewires, the step of exposing said plate photographically, the step ofdeveloping, fixing and washing said plate, and the final step of placingthe then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening,shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the deperforationspresenting a toothed or grained surface, the further step ofapplying athin film of photosensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby theouter surface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth orgrain of the perforations in said surface, said emulsion also fillingsaid perforations, the step of exposing said plate photographically, thestep of developing, fixing and washing said plate, and the final stepofplacing'the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution forhardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of thedeveloped image below'the surface of the plate, the weaker portions ofsaid image remaining substantially level withthe surface of the plateand retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of theperforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when'used for printingbeing adapted to receive repellent from the rear the step of providing acarrier formed of a perforate screen, the perforations thereinpresenting a toothed or grained surface, the further step of applying athin film of photo-sensitive halide emulsion to said surface, wherebythe outer surveloped image below the surface of the plate, the

. weaker portions of said image remaining substantially level with thesurface of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth orgrain, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printing beingadapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via the residueof the face of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth orgrain .of the perforations in said surface, said emulsion also fillingsaid perforations, the step of exposing said plate photographically, thestep of developing, fixing and washing said plate, and the final step ofplacing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution forhardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of thedeveloped image below the surface of the plate, the weaker portions ofsaid image remaining substantially level with the surface of the plateand retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of theperforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printingbeing adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via theresidue of the emulsion remaining in the perforations and disperse thesame over the toothed surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions beingimpervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

5. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dyeprinting which includes the step of providing a woven or meshed carrier,the further step of applying a thin film of photosensitive halideemulsion to said surface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsionsubstantially conforms to the meshed surface of said carrier, saidemulsion also filling the perforations or openings between the strandsforming the mesh, the step of exposing the plate photographically, thestep of developing fixing and washing said plate, and the final step ofplacing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution forhardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of thedeveloped image below the surface of the plate, the weaker portions ofsaid image remaining substantially level with the surface of the plateand retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain, said weakerportions of said plate, when used for printing being adapted to receiverepellent from the rear of the plate via the residue of the emulsionremaining in said perforations or openings and disperse the same overthe toothed surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions beingimpervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

x "BENNETT F. TERRY.

